Social media isn’t going anywhere. It’s as ubiquitous as text messaging and digital music. If you’re still making excuses to not embrace it in your business, you’re way behind the curve.You don’t need to be an expert or power user to make a splash online for your business. You just need a few things:

You don’t need to be an expert or power user to make a splash online for your business. You just need a few things:

  1. Commitment to the process
  2. Passion and authenticity
  3. Willingness to learn from others

Commitment to the process.

It’s easy to look at the so-called overnight Youtube sensation or Instagram influencers and think you could do the same thing as they do. Then after a week of concentrated posting, you give up because your business isn’t being featured on big industry blogs or morning shows on TV.

Social media makes it easy to curate a digital lifestyle that looks incredible and easy. When that happens, it covers up the hustle, the failures, and the stressful periods of wondering when all your work will finally pay off.

You have to be committed to publishing content across all social media channels, and that includes your blog as well. It’s a marathon, not a spring. Don’t get discouraged when your follower count isn’t growing or you’re not getting a lot of new comments on a post. It takes time.

We’ve had a lot of clients who come to us after they’ve failed to grow their digital presence. Many had just a Facebook account before partnering with Recon Media. We were able to teach them the importance of multichannel publishing and how to play the long game.

Passion & authenticity

This is a big one. Consumers today are vigilant and hyper-aware of advertising. They can spot a sales pitch from 10 miles away. Sure, sales is a part of life; we all need and want to buy certain things, and someone somewhere has to produce those things. We just like to do it on our own terms now and feel like we, as the consumer, are in control of the sales process, not the other way around.

This is where your passion for your product, service, or craft come in big time. When a consumer wants to buy something today, they want to have trust in the company or person they’re buying from. It used to be enough to have a trustworthy tagline or a picture of your kids on a billboard. Today, CEOs of multinational companies are accessible online, athletes can engage directly with their fans, and entrepreneurs are changing the game in big ways. This is all thanks to the advancements in technology and the ability to connect to each other anytime, anywhere.

If you are passionate about what you do, let it show in everything you do. Let your personality show in your business, because remember, your business is an extension of yourself.

When you’re posting on social media or your blog, be authentic. Be real. Don’t try to be something or someone you’re not. Don’t try to look, sound, feel, or act like the social media star you follow. That will just work against you. Those books you’ve read or the videos you watched by the stars? That’s them being authentic. They’re successful because people like to follow people they can trust, and who are real.

Willingness to learn from others

This is a tough one for a lot of us. Admitting we don’t know everything or that we’re not the expert feels like a big no-no online today. What it does, though, is shows your audience you’re a real human and you’re working your ass off to get better at what you do. What this doesn’t mean is a single book, podcast, or webinar will change your business overnight into a huge success. It means taking bits and pieces from all areas of your life and learning from them. The VP of a bank can learn from a pastel artist. A bicycle shop owner can learn from an airline pilot. A Navy SEAL can learn from a tech startup CEO, and vice versa. We all have much to learn, but much to offer others as well.

So, how do you grow your social media following? By putting in the time and sticking with it, being real, and learning from others.

If it sounds simple, it’s because it is.